Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i Golf Magazine

I’LL COME CLEAN: I haven’t played a round of golf in over a year. I’ve watched a lot, probably more than the missus would have liked, and I happily listen to recaps and travel updates from everyone on staff. But golf-wise, it’s been the worst 12 months of my life. What led to this round-starved state of affairs? A fall. A fall, at home, in a misguided DIY attempt that resulted in a shattered left heel (the calcaneus, for all you MDs), surgery and nine pins. After months of PT, I’ve recently been making half-swings, buoyed by the support of my colleagues. I’m close, already thinking about how some extra foot flare at address might mitigate my loss of movement. (As a lifelong over-swinger, many here think the injury is…

NOT A SOUL among us cares about the good shots you hit, so please stop telling us about them unless your ultimate goal in life is to witness human faces petrify and turn to dust as you regale their owners with the heroic tale of the gap wedge you hit to get up and down at the 16th. On behalf of everyone in the world save you, please shut up about your well-played shots. On the other hand, if you’d like to entertain us with ballads of your comically bad shots, saddle up a stool. My personal list of such shots would fill several double rolls of toilet paper and, off the top of me head, would include at least two episodes set in Ireland. The first unfolded before a…

Note: The resort uses locally raised pheasant, from nearby MacFarlane Pheasant Farm. > Shallot-1, minced> Butter-2 tbsp, divided> White wine-2 cups> Chicken stock-¼ cup> Heavy cream-2 cups> Flour-1 tbsp> Chopped chives-1 tsp> Chopped parsley-1 tsp> Chopped scallion greens-½ tsp> Chopped fresh tarragon-½ tsp Over low heat, sauté shallot in 1 tbsp butter until translucent (about 2 minutes). Add white wine and reduce by half. Add chicken stock and heavy cream. In a separate pan, melt remaining tbsp butter and add flour to make a roux. When the cream mixture starts to simmer, whisk in the roux and cook over medium heat until slightly thickened. Remove from heat; add fresh herbs. Serve over poultry, with a side of angel hair pasta or rice.…

Spotlight Look for deeper dives into models that excelled across a wide range of performance areas for all handicaps. Bridgestone Tour B JGR $230/Lofts: 15˚, 18˚ Our take: The boost wave crown combines with power slit technology for max face flex at impact, resulting in longer hits. The variable thickness face minimizes distance loss on off-center strikes, while the micro milling texture lessens unwanted spin. ClubTester’s take (10-hdcp): “Jumps off the face. Launching in a higher window than I’m accustomed to seeing, which is nice.” Robot’s take: One of the most forgiving clubs for fast swingers, especially on toe hits. Callaway Mavrik $299/Lofts: 13.5˚, 15˚, 16.5˚, 18˚, 21˚ Our take: Built for maximum speed, the Mavrik comes with a weight low and toward the rear of the sole. Packed to…

Master Fitter, Hot Stix Golf Fountain Hills, Ariz. There’s something Chris Ferguson wants you to know about club-fitting: It’s meant for passionate golfers, not just skilled ones. Moreover, getting fitted for custom clubs sounds (and is) high-tech, but the intention couldn’t be simpler. “My theory is this: I want to help you mishit as well as you can,” Ferguson says. “The best players in the world miss it the best. When [you receive a custom fitting], the weighting, the balance—it’s just going to help you get the face back to square in a more consistent way.” If anyone knows the value of a custom fitting, it’s Ferguson. He witnessed the rise of custom clubs during his playing career in the 1980s and ’90s (which included a brief stop on the…

CEO, TXG Toronto, Canada Ian Fraser has built a popular clubfitting company that enables anyone to experience what it’s like to be custom-fit for their equipment in the same way a Tour player would. With 18-plus years of experience, Fraser’s client list includes the full spectrum of player types. “Clubfitting is essential for players of any skill level, and it doesn’t need to be intimidating or overly complicated,” he says. “Being analyzed on a launch monitor by an equipment specialist may be the best route to take for a skilled golfer, but for a beginner, sometimes it’s just a matter of establishing the correct measurements.” According to Fraser, clubfitting can help you improve your game without making unnecessary changes to your swing. “I remember helping one of the longest players…

Get your fit on like Lexi with trainer-guru Kolby “K-Wayne” Tullier (@kwayne_fitness) SO YOU WANT TO TAKE CONSISTENTLY LONGER, straighter walks from the tee to your second shot. Don’t we all, my friend. There are all sorts of methods and machinations out there, from maxing out your credit card on gear to fancy footwork worthy of Dancing with the Stars. The most straightforward? Make a bigger damn turn. I would if I could, you whimper. I’m not a Tour pro with a cadre of personal trainers and personal chefs at my beck and call. I’m not a member of a gym with machines so fancy that I’m not even sure what half of them do. I’m just a regular working stiff with a stiff back from sitting at my desk…

WHEN IT COMES TO playing your best golf, one of the most effective things you can do is consistently work on your fundamentals. To help you do just that, I’ve come up with a simple training aid that anyone can make called the “Triple T” (two 12-inch PVC pipes connected by a PVC tee fitting with one 10-inch PVC pipe as the third leg). From putting (see drill, left) to setup to full swing, the Triple T is an all-around game changer. LOOK FOR THE DOTS: Each tip throughout this section features a corresponding color code to help you understand which part of your game it will improve the most. Shaky putter Slicer Low handicapper Short-game sufferer Short hitter Swing student High handicapper If you spend any time watching the…

What a fantastic summary of Mr. Nicklaus and all his contributions to golf and sportsmanship (“Jack at 80,” February). One thing I might have noted was his dotting the i during the Script Ohio band formation at The Ohio State football game in 2006. I’m sure Mr. Nicklaus considers it one of his greatest honors. Dotting the i by a non-band member is very rare. Others who have had the honor include John Glenn and Bob Hope. Not bad company. —Randy Kinglsey, via e-mail Many years ago, working as a TV reporter, I had the opportunity to interview Jack Nicklaus at the opening of his design at the new Hills of Lakeway outside Austin. At the end of the interview, Nicklaus accepted my challenge to play closest-to-the-pin on a par…

51 Total strokes over par in the final round, collectively, for the 54-hole leaders at the Players Championship since 2007. Their cumulative Sunday scoring average? 75. (Source: @15thClub) ABOUT 72 The age, according to Wikipedia, of legendary caddie Fluff Cowan. Forty years on Tour, and not even the internet can figure it out. No kidding. Google it. +2.25 The course history index for Justin Rose at the Honda Classic, making him the best statistical player in the event’s history. (Source: Data Golf) 0 Number of victories for Justin Rose at the Honda Classic (though he does have three top-5 finishes in nine starts). 667 Total number of driving miles between all four events on the PGA Tour’s “Florida Swing.” 1,110 Number of driving miles from the Florida Swing’s fourth event (the…

Brandy can originate from anywhere and be made from the juice of any fruit, but France is the kingpin of grape-based blends, best enjoyed at room temperature and in a snifter. Cognac and Armagnac are specific types of brandy from eponymous regions of France, and navigating their labels is as confusing as the roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe. (Watch a time-lapse video on You-Tube and you’ll understand.) The key is understanding the alphabetic code on the bottles, which is more English than French (as England was the original big importer of brandy) and refers to the youngest brandy in the blend as follows: V.S. is “very special” and indicates the youngest cognac or Armagnac in a blend is at least two years old. (1) V.O. stands for “very old,”…

Rickie Fowler has been moonlighting as a product designer since he signed a golf ball deal with TaylorMade last year. Seriously. From the moment the ink dried on his contract, the 31-year-old began the process of helping reimagine the company’s TP5 Pix design. The updated 2020 TP5 Pix now in Rickie’s bag (there’s a TP5x version as well) offers some new bells and whistles that’ll appeal to golfers of all stripes, including a Clear Path alignment that combines a new side stamp with multicolor, high-contrast graphics—triangular in shape—to create a more consistent, visible line for feedback before the stroke. Once the ball comes off the putter face, the orange and black graphics—a color nod to Oklahoma State—provide you with a better idea of how well the ball was struck and…

THE ONE PERSON WHO actually understood the life and times of Tiger Woods—in ways nobody else could—is gone. Kobe, of course. When Tiger turned pro in 1996, the first Nike ad campaign—shot at Griffith Park, a public course in Los Angeles—depicted kids looking in the camera and saying, “I am Tiger Woods.” Kobe Bryant took his talents to the NBA that same year. He was Tiger Woods, and Tiger was Kobe. Kobe’s legacy will someday fall to Tiger: a dazzling smile, a fierce intelligence, a killer mindset, a thick medical file, a career of staggering length and depth. Kobe had (and Tiger has) more money and fame than he knew what to do with, and a sense of entitlement derailed them both but did not stop them, as nothing could.…

Master Fitter, Cool Clubs Irvine, Calif. As a multisport athlete in his youth, Josiah Solberg didn’t get serious about golf until he tried out for his high school team on a whim. He made it as an alternate, quickly fell in love with the game and a professional golf management degree from Arizona State followed. While working as a PGA head professional after college, Solberg’s interest in fitting was piqued by the advent of Cool Clubs, which was then newly established. The rest is history. Solberg has been with the brand-agnostic custom fitter for 11 years. Nicknamed Josiah “The Messiah” (by an enthusiastic online reviewer), as a nod to his fitting prowess, Solberg has worked with thousands of players over the course of his career, from beginners to Tour stars.…

The Best in the Game. The Best for Your Game. It’s 2020. We can all agree that clubfitting is important, if not critical. But what constitutes a proper fit, and, more important, where should you go to get one? GOLF’s got your back. On these pages we introduce the Top 50 Clubfitters in North America. (Visit golf.com for the complete list of fitter locations, 376 in all.) With the help of industry experts in the fields of club manufacturing, data technology and professional teaching, GOLF looked at more than 240 individual clubfitting companies, with an internal panel ultimately focusing on half of this group to determine the Top 50. In addition to experience and reputation, fitters rose or dropped in the ranking depending on certain operational criteria (see grid, p.…

Callaway Mavrik Sub Zero Driver (9°) Graphite Design Tour AD BB 7X Shaft Callaway Rogue Sub Zero Fairway Wood (15°) Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 8X Shaft Callaway Rogue Sub Zero Fairway Wood (18°) Graphite Design Tour AD-DI 8X Shaft Callaway Apex Pro 19 Irons (4-PW) True Temper Dynamic Gold X 100 Shafts Callaway JAWS MD5 Wedge (52°) True Temper Dynamic Gold X 100 Shaft Titleist SM6 Wedge (56°) True Temper Dynamic Gold X 100 Shafts Titleist SM7 Wedge (60°) True Temper Dynamic Gold X 100 Shafts Odyssey Stroke Lab Black #7 Putter A new Callaway Chrome Soft Prototype Golf Ball…

AMONG THE MOST COMMON and concerning maladies in our sport are elbow afflictions known as golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) and tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis, which you can get from playing golf). These are similar but distinct inflammatory processes that usually result from overuse but can appear acutely. Either can result from excessive practice, especially with poor technique or ill-fitting equipment. Symptoms: Tenderness, perceived weakness, increased soreness with activity over either the medial (inside for golfer’s elbow) or lateral (outside for tennis elbow) bony prominences or epicondyles. Self-care: First: rest. Second: apply ice to the bony prominence. Third: judiciously take an over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medication you can tolerate. Fourth: use a circumferential brace while playing, like the one Dana Quigley once wore. Doctor’s visit: Any pain that pulls you off the course…

SEVENTY PERCENT OF ALL GOLFERS suffer from early extension, but 99 percent of Tour players don’t. That should tell you something about how damaging this swing error really is. Described in simple terms, early extension is any movement of your lower body toward the ball, relative to its starting position at address, during the swing. The most common iteration of early extension occurs between the top of the backswing and impact, when a poor weight shift or sequence forces your torso to rise up. As your upper body pulls away from the ball, your hips and legs thrust toward it (illustrations below). Expect an uncontrollable two-way miss along with a heavy dose of skulls and chunks. Before you can correct early extension, you must determine whether it’s due to a…

WHATEVER YOU THINK of Patrick Reed, it’s hard to deny the competitive spirit and confidence that have propelled him to the game’s highest level. Reed is a grinder, unwilling to accept a bogey without a monumental battle. His sterling short game and clutch putting keep him in tournaments when his ballstriking isn’t on point. The image here can teach you a lot about the technical aspects involved in successfully hitting a pitch from thick rough. What the picture can’t show—and what might be more important—is the determined mindset of a grinder. Riggs teaches at Woodley Lakes Golf Club in Van Nuys, Calif.…

I WAS FORTUNATE TO SPEND some time with arguably the best wedge player to ever play the game, Seve Ballesteros. He told me there were four key fundamentals that are “must-dos” to hit a perfect flop shot. The first is to point the clubface at the target at impact. Second, keep the butt of the grip pointed toward the center of your body from start to finish, making sure to play the ball forward in your stance with the shaft leaning back. Third, because the ball is forward, your shoulders will naturally open. Fine. Swing along your shoulder line, which in this case will promote an outside-in path. Lastly, allow your head to move closer to the ball through impact. The club always wants to bottom out directly below your…

WHEN YOU LOAD CERTAIN muscle groups in your backswing, then correctly unload that built-up energy as you swing through the ball, the game gets easy. However, it’s complicated kinematic stuff. Luckily, you can feel it—and learn it—with a simple training aid. Secure one end of an elastic band under your trail foot and the other under your grip. Swing the club back, keeping the band taut the whole way. Better yet, stretch it. Without any thinking on your part, you’ll naturally swing your arms while shifting your weight and restricting your hips so the band doesn’t go slack. Now you’re loading! As you can imagine, you’ll be able to go back only so far; at that point, swing the club forward. Again, maintain the tautness in the band. Keep swinging…

We’re not saying that the new line of Triple Track putters from Odyssey aim themselves, but with sight lines that match up with those on Callaway golf balls, it’s close. Odyssey Triple Track putters ($249; seven different models available) employ a three-line system similar to the stripes found on airport runways, making it easier and more intuitive to square up the face at address. When used with a ball with Triple Track lines (see most Callaway models), the net effects are even better—if the lines on both the putter and ball line up, you’re dead solid perfect. Additional features include a multimaterial, counterweighted shaft for better balance and a White Hot Micro-hinge Star face insert for a smooth roll and firm feel.…

LOCATED IN HARTFORD, Wisconsin, a mere 35 miles from Milwaukee, Erin Hills Golf Course became a household name after hosting the 2017 U.S. Open. But another contributing factor to the destination’s growing renown is its upscale American-fare restaurant, the Clubhouse, which has offered a delectable pheasant entrée for the last year. While it’s not every day you’ll find pheasant instead of chicken on your post-round menu, the elegant dish has been met with hearty approval. “Pheasant has a richer flavor to it and is heads above a breast of chicken,” says Erin Hills executive chef Jim Brown. “I wanted to turn it up a notch.” Chef Brown serves a frenched breast of pheasant off the bone and sliced, but it’s the fine herbs sauce he created (see recipe at right)…

“We can always kind of be average and do what’s normal. I’m not in this to do what’s normal.” “Haters are a good problem to have. Nobody hates the good ones. They hate the great ones.” “I’m reflective only in the sense that I learn to move forward. I reflect with a purpose.” “We all have self-doubt. You don’t deny it, but you also don’t capitulate to it. You embrace it.” “It’s the one thing you can control. You are responsible for how people remember you—or don’t. So don’t take it lightly.”…

Senior Vice President, True Spec Golf Scottsdale, Ariz. With a background in professional golf, product testing, product design, professional teaching and clubfitting, True Spec’s Tim Briand delivers an extensive fitting experience, whether for a single club or a complete set makeover. Over the past 15 years, Briand estimates he’s conducted over 6,000 fittings, including builds for major champions on the PGA and LPGA Tours, to say nothing of world-class athletes in other sports. Prior to joining True Spec Golf, Briand played collegiately at the University of South Carolina and briefly as a professional. As senior vice president of True Spec, he’s responsible for the customer experience at all locations and training all new fitting associates. In addition, Briand helps conduct robot testing and player testing for all products offered by…

Spotlight Look for deeper dives into models that excelled across a wide range of performance areas for all handicaps. Bridgestone Tour B JGR $220/Lofts: 19˚, 22˚, 25˚ Our take: The boost wave crown and new power slit design add face flex at impact for increased ball speed, while the variable face thickness expands forgiveness across more face area. ClubTester’s take (16-hdcp): “Crown design took some getting used to, but the club performed well and launched high.” Robot’s take: Data ranks this a bona fide power-fader. Callaway Mavrik $249/Lofts: 18˚, 20˚, 23˚, 26˚ Our take: Hybrids usually get the short end of the stick when it comes to groundbreaking face technology typically reserved for drivers and fairway woods. Callaway’s Mavrik is an exception. The hybrid offers a fully optimized Flash Face…

Lead Professor, Club Champion University Willowbrook, Ill. “Making people play better golf through equipment.” That’s the modus operandi of Brad Syslo, lead professor of Club Champion University. A data-driven club craftsman, Syslo is beginning his second year heading the Club Champion training program, teaching clubfitters the ins and outs of Club Champion’s standards. Since graduating from Iowa State University, Syslo, 38, has taken a meandering career path, working on “every side of the counter” in golf. From working as a PGA professional to a job as a clubfitter at Olympia Fields and even a position as a grassroots program manager at Wilson Golf, Syslo has seen many corners of the golf industry. As a fitter, Syslo listens to the goals of the people he’s fitting to help them achieve their…

Callaway Custom Fitting Carlsbad, Calif. (Callaway HQ) By appointment only (Mon.–Fri.) (888) 223-7842 Cleveland Tour Fitting Center Huntington Beach, Calif. (HQ) By appointment only (800) 999-6263 Cobra Tour Experience Encinitas, Calif. (Encinitas Ranch G.C.) By appointment only (Thurs.–Sat.) (760) 710-3422 Srixon Tour Fitting Center Huntington Beach, Calif. (HQ) By appointment only (800) 999-6263 TaylorMade Kingdom Carlsbad, Calif. (HQ) and Greensboro, Ga. (Reynolds Lake Oconee) By appointment only (800) 456-8633 Titleist Fitting Oceanside, Calif. (TPI) and Acushnet, Mass. (Manchester Lane) By appointment only (888) 262-7202 XXIO Tour Fitting Center Huntington Beach, Calif. (HQ) By appointment only (800) 999-6263…

Q: What’s the most common mental mistake you see golfers make? —D. Rushton, Cos Cob, Conn. A: This is an easy question to answer but one of the hardest tasks to accomplish as a competitor. In my opinion, the most common mental mistake I see golfers make is assuming they actually have to think a certain way to play well. Ask anyone what they were thinking when they played their best and the answer you will always get is “nothing” or “I don’t really know.” So why would we try and prescribe a certain way to think when what we truly desire is a sense of no thinking at all? I always counsel my clients that I can’t tell them what to think or how to think. But providing them with…

The BioMech Golf Putting Sensor may just be what your stroke needs to make 2020 your best putting season ever. Simply attach the Lego-brick-sized device to the underside of your puttershaft (photo, above) and, after a quick synchronization, begin making strokes on the practice green (or in your den, office, etc.). Your stroke data pops up in real time on BioMech’s smartphone or tablet app (IOS only). DOES IT WORK? Yes. Like a charm. Fixing your stroke using the real-time capabilities of the app provides critical instant feedback even before you begin your stroke. It can track any performance variable (face angle, timing, stroke length, etc.) you can imagine. It even keeps a log of every stroke, so you can pinpoint strengths and weaknesses over time. Monthly subscriptions start at…

For years I struggled with teaching my students how to hit consistent bunker shots, using both traditional and unorthodox methods. It wasn’t until talking with a PGA Tour player about sand technique that I realized what was missing from my bunker lesson plan: precision. Great bunker players know how to get the club to bottom out at the same point in their swing, and position that low point precisely under the ball. To develop a better feel for the location of your bunker swing’s low point, tee up a ball high in the sand. With a wedge, try to clip the tee without hitting the ball or the bunker (see below). It’s harder than it looks, but you’ll quickly get a feel for bottoming out your swing underneath the ball.…

You dream about hitting draws. Heck, you may be happy just knowing where the ball is going on swings. Try this: Get into your stance without a club and take your right hand to the top of your backswing. You should feel as though you’re balancing a glass of water in your palm, nice and flat. From this position, start your downswing. The sensation here is that you’re throwing the water from the glass out and to the right of your target line. By ingraining these simple feels, you’ll improve your backswing and top position, allowing you to move through your downswing more efficiently. Tossing the water is key: This action helps you get the toe of the club up in the air post-impact as well as work the club…

Hey, Champ. Can I call you Champ? Yes, but Ray’s cool, too. How did you get started in golf? I didn’t start playing until maybe 1992, when I moved to L.A. My game was bad—really bad. What’s your handicap now? Maybe an 18. I play at Riviera, so there’s no mulligans, man. What’s the hardest part of the game? It’s so strange. As a boxer, I could hit a guy who’s moving real quick. But if you plant a little white ball in front of me, just sitting there, I might miss the damn thing. I feel lucky to have lived through your heyday, watching you fight Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, Roberto Duran. Who was your toughest opponent? They each had their own significance. Muhammad Ali told me, “Ray, when…